Improving Sleep Quality to Prevent Perinatal Depression: The Obstetric Nurse Intervention

Abstract

Throughout their life, women should pay attention to their mental health. Evidence indicates that poor sleep quality is related to depressive symptoms in pregnancy, justifying the intervention of health professionals in improving sleep quality to promote the mental health of pregnant women. The objective of our study is to analyze the relationship between sleep quality and perinatal depression, and to identify the obstetric nurse’s intervention in improving sleep quality in the perinatal period. A total of 53 pregnant women between the 28th week of pregnancy and the 7th day after delivery completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Women were also asked about the strategies used by the obstetric nurse to improve their quality of sleep. Data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics software, version 25.0. The Mann–Whitney-U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were carried out. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The median PSQI score was 10 (±3.63), and 9.2% (n = 9) had good quality sleep. The median EPDS score was 12 (±4.43), and 27 participants (50.9%) had probable depression. The women with likely depression had worse sleep quality (p = 0.016). Most participants reported that the obstetric nurse showed no interest in their sleep quality during pregnancy. Women of other nationalities have a higher risk of depression (p = 0.013). Based on our results, it is crucial to assess sleep quality in the perinatal period to promote women’s health during the prenatal and postnatal periods, and more action is needed since we are facing one of the most significant challenges of this century, preventing depression.